Tony Ramos (No. 3 at 133), Derek St. John (No. 1 at 157) and Bobby Telford (No. 3 at 285) all earned wins for the Hawkeyes (6-1 overall). Ramos pinned Jimmy Gulibon in a time of 5:22, while St. John downed James Vollrath by a 10-4 count. Telford then closed out the dual with a 3-2 triumph against 12th-ranked Jimmy Lawson.

“We did not perform,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “(Penn State) is a team that if you let them do what they did to us tonight, they’re going to take you out. That’s a good description. They kicked us right off our home mat.”

Penn State’s Ed Ruth and Morgan McIntosh notched consecutive major decisions at 184 and 197, giving the Nittany Lions (7-0) a 15-point edge and sealing the victory with a match left.

The dual opened with a bit of a surprise when Iowa’s red-shirt Thomas Gilman took the mat, instead of fourth-ranked Cory Clark, against two-time NCAA finalist and No. 3 Nico Megaludis. It was expected to be one of a handful of swing matches.

After St. John’s win tied the dual, 9-9, at the intermission, Iowa didn’t prevailed again until Telford’s victory.

“This was a real good test,” said Brands. “We’re still finding some things out. It was an evaluation.”

The Hawkeyes return to action Dec. 29-30 at the 51st annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill.

“It’s a shorter break than usual, and that’s a real good thing based on (Saturday),” said Brands.